


i'm strong when i'm with you

by sanj_sanj



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Emilie Agreste, Minor Violence, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, SADrien, ladrien, the angst gets real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanj_sanj/pseuds/sanj_sanj
Summary: "you don't have to hide your tears from me."
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 23
Kudos: 148





	i'm strong when i'm with you

**Author's Note:**

> first in a series of hurt/comfort prompts!  
> featuring post-reveal ladrien

Ladybug was worried. Her nimble fingers were running rampantly through her hair, her thoughts scattered and frantic. She tried, tried to let the gentle wind smooth through her anxiety, tried to focus on the disappearing sun in the horizon. 

By the time the sun had fallen and the sky was a murky black, she was pacing. Marinette didn’t know where he was. She hadn’t seen Chat in a few days - or Adrien for that matter - and they had promised to meet up tonight. They’d have a fun patrol together, maybe sneak a few kisses, it would be perfect. 

But he wasn’t here. She had to have been waiting for at least an hour now. Where was her kitty? Ladybug pulled at her hair ties, throwing them over the rooftop in frustration. 

Maybe he was sick, or hurt, or worse. 

Maybe he got hurt on the way here, or an akuma she hadn’t heard about kidnapped him.

Maybe his father had trapped him at home, and he was all alone.

She couldn’t keep torturing herself with the possibilities, but they just kept drizzling through her mind. And then Tikki’s voice, seemingly communicating to her from through the miraculous, soothed her.

“Go see him, Marinette. You know you want to.”

She wasn’t sure if it would work but she had to try. Ladybug swung off to the Agreste mansion, her footfalls firm and persistent over the rooftops. Every ounce of her was screaming that something somewhere was off and it was driving her insane. Instead, she focused on the sound of her feet cascading across buildings until she was across from her kitty’s window.

His lights were off, so maybe he was just asleep. Perhaps he had just forgotten about their special day. T-that was better, right? Better than him being hurt?

Marinette pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Now how was she going to get into his house? Gabriel had installed cameras outside Adrien’s room - so if she were to jump in through his window, it would have to be timed right.

She waited patiently for the security cameras to turn away, then hooked her yo-yo around his window. What she hadn’t accounted for was that his window had already been wide open. And of course, she slammed right into a very confused Adrien, who toppled and fell to the ground. 

He soon regained his balance, however, and pinned Ladybug to the ground, straddling her hips and putting a hand to her mouth.

Ladybug mumbled under his hand. “A-adrien! Adrien, it’s-”

He leaned in closer, whispering. “If you’re an akuma, I want you out. I’m not in the mood - get out of my room.”

She pushed him off her. “It’s me, Adrien. Ladybug. Your girlfriend?”

“M-Marinette? Oh. Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I had the lights off- I didn’t notice it was you - please don’t hate me.” Adrien rose to his feet and turned the lights on, hiding his face in his hands.

“No, no, no, why would I ever hate you? Look at me,  _ minou. _ I love you, always.” Ladybug reached up and pulled a hand off Adrien’s face, revealing a hint of a smile.

“I know, I’m sorry. I love you too - I’ve just been on edge today. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Okay, if you say so. Adrien, you know you can always talk to me. Were you asleep? I’m so sorry - I can leave, I never meant to wake you up like that-”

“No. It’s fine, I wasn’t asleep.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow. “Then, why were you sitting in the dark?”

“I just needed to think some things through. Nothing is up, Ladybug. You can go now, I’m fine.” Adrien slumped over on his bed, running his fingers through his hair absently. 

Okay, something was definitely up. Her kitty always loved having her over, when had he ever told her to leave?

Ladybug steeled herself, taking a deep breath. “You hate being alone. You’ve never asked me to leave before. I was waiting for you outside and was worrying myself sick over where you were. I know something is wrong.  _ Minou,  _ please tell me.”

Adrien turned away, pushing her hand off his cheek. “No. Not this time, Ladybug. Leave me alone. Just leave me here to rot.”

“Just like everyone else,” he whispered under his breath. Adrien turned over in his bed, facing away from her. She could see his shoulders heaving, wracked with silent sobs.

Marinette walked over to the bed and sat beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to hide your tears from me, Adrien. I’m here for you. Always.”

Her last words cracked his dented composure, and Adrien let out a shuddering gasp. Ladybug wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. She pulled back a little, staring into his eyes, pooling with unshed tears. 

“What happened,  _ minou _ ?”

***

Adrien hadn’t forgotten about their special day. In fact, it was all he could think about as he was dragged from photoshoot to photoshoot. His father had crammed in a few extra shoots the other day, after Adrien was supposedly acting up.

He had simply asked to go on their class’s field trip in a few days, so that he could spend some more time with Marinette. Gabriel, since he was a terrible excuse of a father, had never approved of his relationship with Marinette. He would much rather have his son date Kagami, or even… Lila. When Adrien outright refused and for the first time, talked back to his father, at first there had been no consequences.

Or so he thought. 

Gabriel thought he was subtle, slowly filling his schedule to the brim and making less and less time to see Marinette. Little did he know, his son could vault himself over to his girlfriend’s house at night. But soon Adrien was so overworked to even transform. 

Marinette understood. She was always so caring, and understanding, and amazing. She was the only person who treated him as… a person. As someone who had feelings and wasn’t just a pretty piece of property that couldn’t afford to be damaged. Marinette was the only thing keeping him going.

So when his father said no to the field trip, Adrien lashed out. He made sure Gabriel was aware he had been overworking his son and put his best argument forward.

_ “Adrien, your recent photos have been… subpar to say the least. I will not stand for this-” _

_ “Do you know why? Because I’ve been worked to the bone. I’m so tired at night, I don’t even have time to change. I flop onto my bed in the middle of the night only to be woken at the crack of dawn. I don’t have the energy to put a simple smile on your-” _

_ “Do not use that tone with me, young man. No one will speak to me like that. You need the extra work because you are NOT upholding the brand. As my son, the contract-” _

_ “The contract is all you care about! What about me? As a person? As your  _ son _? I’m nothing to you.” _

_ “You will uphold the contract and do as I say. That is enough, Adrien.” _

Of course, no one would ever win against Gabriel Agreste. However, Adrien was desperate.

_ “Do you think my mother would be proud of what you’re upholding? Overworking her son and pushing him away to his room every day?” _

_ “She would be so disappointed in you, Father.” _

_ “Don’t you dare speak of her.” _

_ “I have every right. She was my mother, too.” _

_ “Don’t you dare use her as an excuse for your terrible behavior. Emilie would cry at the ruckus you are causing right now. She was always so delighted with you, look at what you are now.” _

_ Adrien almost regretted bringing his mother up. He didn’t want to hear how disappointed his mother would have been, if she was here to watch him. If she had been there to talk about his first day of school, no matter how late it had been. About his first love. About his first friend. A-about how lonely he always was. _

_ Would she have loved him? Would she side with Gabriel, keeping him away from the world? Taking away his freedom, the one thing he valued the most? _

_ “She would agree with me, son. She’d despise you, talking back to your father. If Emilie were still here, she wouldn’t love you. No, your mother doesn’t love you. Not like this.” _

_ The fear, anxiety, and frustration that had been building inside of him burst free. He was furious. His father didn’t have the right to hurt him like that. Adrien felt as though a knife had been stabbed through his heart, and twisted maniacally. With a fleeting thought to look out for akumas, Adrien lost his sense of caution and screamed at the man before him. _

_ “That is enough! How can you talk to me like that? My mother is gone, a-and you’re sitting here talking about how she would hate me! All I a-asked for was a simple outing with my friends, with my girlfriend. You have nothing but hurt me all your life! Never in your life have you been a good father. Y-you sick b-bastard!” Adrien had his fists clenched at his sides, tears streaming down his cheeks. Digging his nails into his palms, he stamped on his emotions and swallowed the bile that rose to his throat. _

_ Meanwhile, Gabriel - who, despite all that happened, was as stoic as ever - lunged across the room and slapped Adrien across the face. “You will never speak to me like that, ever again. Now, get out of my sight, you ungrateful brat. Your mother will never ever be proud of you.” _

_ Adrien raised a shaking hand to his cheek, feeling the rapidly forming bruise. He stood slack-jawed and unbelieving. His eyes unfocused, he looked up at his father, who was continuing to ignore his existence, and slowly headed out of the room. Gabriel had never once raised a hand to him before, and never once had it hurt so much. Adrien knew he would never have his father’s approval, but he had never dreamed of losing his mother’s.  _

_ Mom had always loved him… right? She was always proud of me. Right? Adrien snarled. He couldn’t let his father get to him. Gabriel may have taken away his freedom, but Adrien was not about to let him take away his mother.  _

_ As he walked back up to his room, he chanted a mantra to himself, one that was keeping him from completely bursting into tears at the door. “Don’t listen to his bullshit, don’t listen to it, d-don’t listen-” _

_ Flopping onto his bed and still holding back tears, Adrien didn’t realize it was long past the time he had agreed to meet Marinette. _

***

“I-it’s not a big deal, m’lady. I-it’s just m-my father. He wanted to talk to me today. You know how he’s been cramming so much into my schedule. When he said he wanted to speak with me, I panicked. I didn’t want to deal with anything else, I already missed you so much. And I made up my mind to ask him about the upcoming field trip.”

Ladybug hummed, running her fingers through his hair, spurring him on to continue his angry rant. “And what was his response?”

“Ugh, as always, he said no. I realize that the last field trip I went on, things went wonky and I ended up floating through space - but that’s a one time thing! My father went on to complain about how my recent photos have not been good enough?? He doesn’t even care about how tired I’ve been. H-he basically, uh, he doesn’t think of me as a person. All I am to him is just, just a contract!” He rubbed at his eyes, desperate to stop the onslaught of tears. 

Placing a soft kiss on his cheek, Ladybug lifted him up onto her lap and put her arms around his waist, snuggling into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes, oblivious to his rising blush.

“I-I’m sorry. Do you want to do something else-” She put his own hand to his lips, then kissed it gently. 

“Nuh uh, tell me how you feel. And you are allowed to cry, please don’t hide your emotions in front of me. I love you for you; never hide who you are, okay,  _ minou? _ ”

God, he loved her so much. The only girl who was ever able to love him for who he truly was. Who treated him like a person and made sure he felt heard. Marinette was so beautiful, loving, understanding. She almost made him forget about his father and what had happened. 

In a fiery impulse of love and passion, Adrien craned his neck and kissed Ladybug softly. He peppered kisses up and down her face, purring happily. “Thank you for being so amazing.” She responded with a happy mewl.

“So anyways. I was so desperate. I just wanted to win, to get the upper hand, just once. So I-I brought up Mom. I told him that my mother would be nowhere near happy with how he was treating me. I saw him flinch, but from there on, the conversation only went downhill.”

Adrien let out a gut-wrenching sob, prompting Ladybug to tighten her arms around his waist. “H-he said that s-she wouldn’t be proud of me. He kept saying it over and over again. Like even though she’s gone and she’s not coming back, she’d despise who I am. That my mother is just as disappointed in me as he is. A-and it hurt. God, it hurt so much.”

“My mother is gone! Forever. He had no right. I-I don’t need to know just how much I disappointed her. I already know I’m a disappointment. And what’s worse, my father, h-he said she never loved me. My own mother - who kissed me goodnight, who read me stories, who made me  _ smile _ \- didn’t love me. I don’t want to believe him - I’m trying so hard to fight it - but what if it’s true?” he whispered.

“What if he’s right? I-I can’t deal with that. Please, please tell me he’s wrong.”

Ladybug’s voice was pained and she smiled shakily. It was as if he had stabbed through her heart with the same knife Gabriel had stabbed through his. Still, it meant so much to him that she was at least trying to put up a brave front, all for him. 

“Adrien. Nothing your father says is ever worth listening to. He was wrong, so wrong. Your mother loved you so much - it’s obvious even in the pictures you took. I know I wasn’t around for your childhood, but she looks so proud of you. You are nowhere near a disappointment, hun. You’re such an amazing, strong individual and I know your mother loves you for that.”

“T-thank you. I-I just can’t get over the fact that he was willing t-to hurt me like that. And for what? Because I said he didn’t care about me? He just proved my stupid point. A-and it only gets worse. I got really angry and called him names - I know, I know, I don’t have the right - and he slapped me across the face. Not even with the slightest bit of emotion on his face. Then I was shooed out of his room and left to brood, as always.”

Ladybug turned him around in her lap and let out a shrill cry when she saw his face. “Oh my god, how did I not notice that? Ahhh, it’s already bruising - I can’t believe your own father would do that to you. If he ever lays a finger on you again-”

“M’lady, please, I’m-”

“You are not fine! I know you’re not used to thinking badly about your father - hell, I bet you barely even swore when you called him names - but please, please understand that this is not okay. And he brought up your mother like  _ that _ !” Ladybug pushed Adrien off her and began pacing around the room.

“I can’t believe he has the nerve to say she didn’t love you. As if he understands love. We all know Gabriel Agreste has nothing but an ice cold heart. H-he wouldn’t understand love if it punched him in the face and threw him off a building! Ugh, I bet all he’s thinking right now is about how the bruise on your face is going to affect your photoshoots tomorrow. S-such a bastard, oh my god!”

“T-t-that’s exactly what I called him earlier.” Adrien whispered as Ladybug whirled angrily. The poor boy was wrapping himself up in the blankets, trying and failing to will away even more tears. Marinette’s furious composure cracked in half, watching him cry before her. She rushed over to him, wrapping him up in her embrace.

“Oh, I’m so so sorry,  _ minou _ . I wasn’t thinking when I started ranting - I should have known raising my voice wouldn’t help you right now. Oh no, and I pushed you off me - gosh, I’m so so sorry. Your father is and will always be an idiot. But for now, let’s focus on you, okay?” Adrien nodded and burrowed deeper into the crook of her neck. She kissed his forehead tenderly and pulled the blankets up around them.

Ladybug wrapped her arms around his waist and wrapped her leg around his. Adrien began petting her hair, taking out the rubber bands and letting her hair cascade down her shoulders. He purred when she rubbed his back soothingly and wiped away his tears. 

“I love you, my  _ minou _ .” she said as she kissed the bruise on his face gingerly, making sure not to hurt him. 

“I love you more, m’lady. I love you to the ends of the earth, to the moon and back. I love your smile and your beautiful sky blue eyes. I love how you can always make me happy no matter how upset I am. I love how graceful you are, flying through the air on your way to save the city. You’re my little ladybug, fluttering around the rooftops of Paris. I’m so lucky to be in love with the kindest, most incredible girl anyone will ever meet. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, m’lady.”

Ladybug looked up at him, tears shining in her beautiful eyes. “ _ Minou _ , you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love your positivity, your radiance. You’re like sunshine on earth, lighting up any room you walk into. Adrien, you’re gorgeous both inside and out. You have a heart of gold and I can’t stress enough, how incredibly loved you are.”

“Your father doesn’t deserve you. Nino, Alya, Kagami, Luka, and I, we’re your real family. We, especially me, will always love you so so much. I know we can’t make up for the lack of your mom or for your terrible father. But I hope that you’ll accept us as maybe a second family. And you know you’re always welcome at our bakery. We’re adopting you as soon as you turn 18.”

Adrien cried, pure joyful, adoring tears. He was so lucky to have such wonderful friends, such an incredible girlfriend. “I don’t need my father. This bruise will heal. And the years of being alone, I’ll heal too. As long as I have you, I know I’ll be okay. I-It’s going to be hard, having to face him tomorrow. But maybe it’ll get better, maybe he’ll get better. There’s nowhere to go but up, and maybe, just maybe, one day we can patch up our relationship. I have hope.”

“And that’s what I love about you. You’re pure sunshine, my  _ minou _ .” Ladybug booped him on the nose and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Never change.”

“Whatever you say, m’lady. B-but will you stay with me? Here? I-I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to - I just don’t want to be alone. But you can leave if you-” 

She grabbed him by the collar and kissed him, hard. And that was all the answer he needed.


End file.
